Systems and methods for detecting man-in-the-middle attacks

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method for detecting man-in-the-middle attacks may include (1) registering a mobile device of a user within a computing environment as an authenticated mobile device that corresponds to the user, (2) receiving an authentication request to log into a secure computing resource as the user, (3) transmitting, in response to receiving the authentication request, an out-of-band push authentication prompt to the registered mobile device of the user through a different channel than a channel through which the authentication request was received, (4) comparing a geolocation indicated by the authentication request with a geolocation indicated by the registered mobile device, and (5) performing remedial action in response to detecting a man-in-the-middle attack based on a determination that the geolocation indicated by the authentication request and the geolocation indicated by the registered mobile device do not match. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

BACKGROUND

Individuals and organizations typically seek to protect their computingresources and computer networks from attacks by authenticating usersduring login sequences. For example, enterprise organizations mayinstruct employees to perform first factor authentication (e.g.,password confirmation) upon attempts to log into enterprise computers.More sophisticated systems may use two-factor authentication, whichbases authentication of the user on a combination of two differentthings. These two different things may be selected from something thatthe user knows, something that the user possesses, and something that isinseparable from the user.

Despite the use of traditional authentication procedures to protectcomputing resources, attackers are still succeeding in attacking and/orcompromising some of these procedures. For example, attackers mayperform a man-in-the-middle attack in which the attackers situatethemselves between the user and the secure computing resources. Theattackers then spoof the identity of the user by modifying networktraffic between the user and the secure computing resources. In someexamples, attackers have succeeded in performing man-in-the-middleattacks that overcome two-factor authentication procedures. Accordingly,the instant disclosure identifies and addresses a need for additionaland improved systems and methods for detecting man-in-the-middleattacks.

SUMMARY

As will be described in greater detail below, the instant disclosuregenerally relates to systems and methods for detecting man-in-the-middleattacks by, for example, comparing the geolocation indicated by anauthentication request and the geolocation indicated by a mobile deviceand checking whether they satisfy a proximity threshold, as discussedfurther below. In one example, a computer-implemented method fordetecting man-in-the-middle attacks may include (1) registering a mobiledevice of a user within a computing environment as an authenticatedmobile device that corresponds to the user, (2) receiving anauthentication request to log into a secure computing resource as theuser, (3) transmitting, in response to receiving the authenticationrequest, an out-of-band push authentication prompt to the registeredmobile device of the user through a different channel than a channelthrough which the authentication request was received, (4) comparing ageolocation indicated by the authentication request with a geolocationindicated by the registered mobile device in response to the out-of-bandpush authentication prompt, and (5) performing remedial action inresponse to detecting a man-in-the-middle attack based on adetermination that the geolocation indicated by the authenticationrequest and the geolocation indicated by the registered mobile device donot match.

In some examples, registering the mobile device may include installing amobile security application on the mobile device and signing a messagefrom the mobile device to a registration server using a private keyembedded within the mobile security application. In one embodiment,transmitting, in response to receiving the authentication request, theout-of-band push authentication prompt to the registered mobile devicemay include transmitting a request for the user to approve of theauthentication request.

In one embodiment, transmitting, in response to receiving theauthentication request, the out-of-band push authentication prompt tothe registered mobile device may include transmitting a verificationcode for the user to enter through the channel through which theauthentication request was received. In another embodiment, thegeolocation indicated by the authentication request is ascertainedthrough a service that provides access to a database that maps Internetprotocol addresses to geolocation information.

In one embodiment, the service provides a record that specifies (1) anaddress, (2) longitude and latitude coordinates, and/or (3) anorganization. In one embodiment, the geolocation indicated by theregistered mobile device is ascertained through accessing an applicationprogramming interface of the registered mobile device that provides thegeolocation through a global positioning system and/or accessing a cellid associated with the registered mobile device.

In some examples, detecting the man-in-the-middle attack may includeidentifying information indicating a potential false positive indetecting the man-in-the-middle attack and determining that theman-in-the-middle attack is detected despite the indication of thepotential false positive.

In some examples, determining that the man-in-the-middle attack isdetected despite the indication of the potential false positive mayinclude identifying a lack of confirmation information that wouldconfirm the potential false positive. The confirmation information mayinclude (1) satisfaction of a challenge prompt at the registered mobiledevice in response to identifying the information indicating a potentialfalse positive, (2) user history information confirming that the user istrusted, (3) information about other users that share attributes withthe user, (4) information indicating that an Internet protocol addressdoes not hop, and/or (5) information confirming that the user requeststo access the secure computing resource through at least one of a proxyand a network address translation mechanism.

In some examples, detecting the man-in-the-middle attack may includereceiving an indication that the authentication request is transmittedfrom the registered mobile device. Moreover, detecting theman-in-the-middle attack may also include detecting that an Internetprotocol address of the authentication request and an Internet protocoladdress indicated by the registered mobile device are not an exactmatch.

In one embodiment, a system for implementing the above-described methodmay include (1) a registration module, stored in memory, that registersa mobile device of a user within a computing environment as anauthenticated mobile device that corresponds to the user, (2) areception module, stored in memory, that receives an authenticationrequest to log into a secure computing resource as the user, (3) atransmission module, stored in memory, that transmits, in response toreceiving the authentication request, an out-of-band push authenticationprompt to the registered mobile device of the user through a differentchannel than a channel through which the authentication request wasreceived, (4) a comparison module, stored in memory, that compares ageolocation indicated by the authentication request with a geolocationindicated by the registered mobile device in response to the out-of-bandpush authentication prompt, (5) a performance module, stored in memory,that performs remedial action in response to detecting aman-in-the-middle attack based on a determination that the geolocationindicated by the authentication request and the geolocation indicated bythe registered mobile device do not match, and (6) at least one physicalprocessor configured to execute the registration module, the receptionmodule, the transmission module, the comparison module, and theperformance module.

In some examples, the above-described method may be encoded ascomputer-readable instructions on a non-transitory computer-readablemedium. For example, a computer-readable medium may include one or morecomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor of a computing device, may cause the computing device to (1)register a mobile device of a user within a computing environment as anauthenticated mobile device that corresponds to the user, (2) receive anauthentication request to log into a secure computing resource as theuser, (3) transmit, in response to receiving the authentication request,an out-of-band push authentication prompt to the registered mobiledevice of the user through a different channel than a channel throughwhich the authentication request was received, (4) compare a geolocationindicated by the authentication request with a geolocation indicated bythe registered mobile device in response to the out-of-band pushauthentication prompt, and (5) perform remedial action in response todetecting a man-in-the-middle attack based on a determination that thegeolocation indicated by the authentication request and the geolocationindicated by the registered mobile device do not match.

Features from any of the above-mentioned embodiments may be used incombination with one another in accordance with the general principlesdescribed herein. These and other embodiments, features, and advantageswill be more fully understood upon reading the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate a number of exemplary embodimentsand are a part of the specification. Together with the followingdescription, these drawings demonstrate and explain various principlesof the instant disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for detectingman-in-the-middle attacks.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an additional exemplary system fordetecting man-in-the-middle attacks.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for detectingman-in-the-middle attacks.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary mobile device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary workflow illustrating systemsfor detecting man-in-the-middle attacks.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing system capable ofimplementing one or more of the embodiments described and/or illustratedherein.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing network capable ofimplementing one or more of the embodiments described and/or illustratedherein.

Throughout the drawings, identical reference characters and descriptionsindicate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. While theexemplary embodiments described herein are susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have beenshown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detailherein. However, the exemplary embodiments described herein are notintended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, theinstant disclosure covers all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the scope of the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure is generally directed to systems and methods fordetecting man-in-the-middle attacks. As will be explained in greaterdetail below, the systems and methods described herein may enableenterprises and other organizations to protect computing resources fromsophisticated man-in-the-middle attacks that would otherwise overcomecertain forms of two-factor authentication, as discussed further below.The systems and methods described herein may also enable networkadministrators and/or their computing resources to take remedial actionto protect users in response to detecting man-in-the-middle attacks.

The following will provide, with reference to FIGS. 1-2, detaileddescriptions of exemplary systems for detecting man-in-the-middleattacks. Detailed descriptions of corresponding computer-implementedmethods will also be provided in connection with FIGS. 3-5. In addition,detailed descriptions of an exemplary computing system and networkarchitecture capable of implementing one or more of the embodimentsdescribed herein will be provided in connection with FIGS. 6 and 7,respectively.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of exemplary system 100 for detectingman-in-the-middle attacks. As illustrated in this figure, exemplarysystem 100 may include one or more modules 102 for performing one ormore tasks. For example, and as will be explained in greater detailbelow, exemplary system 100 may also include a registration module 104that may register a mobile device of a user within a computingenvironment as an authenticated mobile device that corresponds to theuser. Exemplary system 100 may additionally include a reception module106 that may receive an authentication request to log into a securecomputing resource as the user. Exemplary system 100 may also include atransmission module 108 that may transmit, in response to receiving theauthentication request, an out-of-band push authentication prompt to theregistered mobile device of the user through a different channel than achannel through which the authentication request was received. Exemplarysystem 100 may additionally include a comparison module 110 that maycompare a geolocation indicated by the authentication request with ageolocation indicated by the registered mobile device in response to theout-of-band push authentication prompt. Exemplary system 100 may alsoinclude a performance module 112 that may perform remedial action inresponse to detecting a man-in-the-middle attack based on adetermination that the geolocation indicated by the authenticationrequest and the geolocation indicated by the registered mobile device donot match. Although illustrated as separate elements, one or more ofmodules 102 in FIG. 1 may represent portions of a single module orapplication.

In certain embodiments, one or more of modules 102 in FIG. 1 mayrepresent one or more software applications or programs that, whenexecuted by a computing device, may cause the computing device toperform one or more tasks. For example, and as will be described ingreater detail below, one or more of modules 102 may represent softwaremodules stored and configured to run on one or more computing devices,such as the devices illustrated in FIG. 2 (e.g., computing device 202and/or server 206), computing system 610 in FIG. 6, and/or portions ofexemplary network architecture 700 in FIG. 7. One or more of modules 102in FIG. 1 may also represent all or portions of one or morespecial-purpose computers configured to perform one or more tasks.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, exemplary system 100 may also include one ormore databases, such as database 120. In one example, database 120 maybe configured to store geolocation information 122, which may indicatethe geolocation of an authentication request and/or a registered mobiledevice, as discussed further below. Database 120 may also include deviceregistrations 124, which may specify or identify mobile devicesregistered with system 100. The systems and methods described herein mayprotect users from man-in-the-middle attacks at least in part bytrusting that an out-of-band channel associated with the registeredmobile device is secure. The systems and methods described herein maythen compare the geolocation of the registered mobile device with thegeolocation of an authentication request, as discussed further below.

Database 120 may represent portions of a single database or computingdevice or a plurality of databases or computing devices. For example,database 120 may represent a portion of server 206 in FIG. 2, computingsystem 610 in FIG. 6, and/or portions of exemplary network architecture700 in FIG. 7. Alternatively, database 120 in FIG. 1 may represent oneor more physically separate devices capable of being accessed by acomputing device, such as server 206 in FIG. 2, computing system 610 inFIG. 6, and/or portions of exemplary network architecture 700 in FIG. 7.

Exemplary system 100 in FIG. 1 may be implemented in a variety of ways.For example, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 may representportions of exemplary system 200 in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, system200 may include a computing device 202 in communication with a server206 via a network 204. In one example, computing device 202 may beprogrammed with one or more of modules 102 and/or may store all or aportion of the data in database 120. Additionally or alternatively,server 206 may be programmed with one or more of modules 102 and/or maystore all or a portion of the data in database 120.

In one embodiment, one or more of modules 102 from FIG. 1 may, whenexecuted by at least one processor of computing device 202 and/or server206, enable computing device 202 and/or server 206 to detectman-in-the-middle attacks (e.g., where the attacker has obtained thefingerprint of the computing device used for authentication requests andspoofs the registered user). For example, and as will be described ingreater detail below, registration module 104 may register a mobiledevice (e.g., computing device 202) of a user within a computingenvironment as an authenticated mobile device that corresponds to theuser. Reception module 106 may receive an authentication request 210 tolog into a secure computing resource as the user. Transmission module108 may transmit, in response to receiving authentication request 210,an out-of-band push authentication prompt 212 to the registered mobiledevice of the user through a different channel than a channel throughwhich authentication request 210 was received. Comparison module 110 maycompare a geolocation 220 indicated by authentication request 210 with ageolocation 222 indicated by the registered mobile device in response toout-of-band push authentication prompt 212. Performance module 112 mayperform remedial action in response to detecting a man-in-the-middleattack based on a determination that geolocation 220 indicated byauthentication request 210 and geolocation 222 indicated by theregistered mobile device do not match.

Computing device 202 generally represents any type or form of computingdevice capable of reading computer-executable instructions. Examples ofcomputing device 202 include, without limitation, laptops, tablets,desktops, servers, cellular phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs),multimedia players, embedded systems, wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses, etc.), gaming consoles, combinations of one ormore of the same, exemplary computing system 610 in FIG. 6, or any othersuitable computing device.

Server 206 generally represents any type or form of computing devicethat is capable of facilitating the detection of man-in-the-middleattacks according to method 300 described further below. Examples ofserver 206 include, without limitation, application servers and databaseservers configured to provide various database services and/or runcertain software applications.

Network 204 generally represents any medium or architecture capable offacilitating communication or data transfer. Examples of network 204include, without limitation, an intranet, a Wide Area Network (WAN), aLocal Area Network (LAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN), the Internet,Power Line Communications (PLC), a cellular network (e.g., a GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM) network), exemplary networkarchitecture 700 in FIG. 7, or the like. Network 204 may facilitatecommunication or data transfer using wireless or wired connections. Inone embodiment, network 204 may facilitate communication betweencomputing device 202 and server 206.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary computer-implemented method 300for detecting man-in-the-middle attacks. The steps shown in FIG. 3 maybe performed by any suitable computer-executable code and/or computingsystem. In some embodiments, the steps shown in FIG. 3 may be performedby one or more of the components of system 100 in FIG. 1, system 200 inFIG. 2, computing system 610 in FIG. 6, and/or portions of exemplarynetwork architecture 700 in FIG. 7.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, at step 302, one or more of the systemsdescribed herein may register a mobile device of a user within acomputing environment as an authenticated mobile device that correspondsto the user. For example, registration module 104 may, as part of server206 in FIG. 2, register a mobile device of a user (e.g., computingdevice 202) within a computing environment as an authenticated mobiledevice that corresponds to the user.

As used herein, the phrase “register” generally refers to the process ofauthenticating a mobile device as belonging to a protected user andrecording the authentication for future reference when the user attemptsto access secure computing resources using the mobile device. Similarly,the phrase “mobile device that corresponds to the user” generally refersto tying or linking the mobile device to the user in the registrationprocess such that system 100 may authorize the user to access computingresources through the specified mobile device.

Registration module 104 may register the mobile device in a variety ofways. In some examples, registration module 104 may install a mobilesecurity application on the mobile device. Moreover, registration module104 may also sign a message from the mobile device to a registrationserver using a private key embedded within the mobile securityapplication. The user and the mobile device may thereby authenticatethemselves in the registration process using a public key infrastructuresuch as SSL and/or TLS. During the registration process the user mayalso provide information to a backend security server, such as server206, that the enterprise or proprietor of the secure computing resourcepersonally provided to the user.

At step 304, one or more of the systems described herein may receive anauthentication request to log into a secure computing resource as theuser. For example, reception module 106 may, as part of server 206 inFIG. 2, receive authentication request 210 to log into a securecomputing resource as the user.

As used herein, the term “authentication request” generally refers toany network message from the user that requests for the system toauthenticate the user to thereby enable the user to access the securecomputing resource. Moreover, as used herein, the term “secure computingresource” generally refers to any computing resource that a securitysystem may protect from unauthorized access, such as by initiatingauthentication procedures upon requests to access the resource. Examplesof secure computing resources may include physical hardware, software,network nodes, and/or protected, private and/or proprietary data.

Reception module 106 may receive the authentication request in a varietyof ways. In general, reception module 106 may receive a network messageindicating that the author of the message alleges to be the user andrequests to access the secure computing resource. Reception module 106may receive the network message through the web, the Internet, and/oranother network, such as network 204.

At step 306, one or more of the systems described herein may transmit,in response to receiving the authentication request, an out-of-band pushauthentication prompt to the registered mobile device of the userthrough a different channel than a channel through which theauthentication request was received. For example, transmission module108 may, as part of server 206 in FIG. 2, transmit, in response toreceiving authentication request 210, out-of-band push authenticationprompt 212 to the registered mobile device of the user through adifferent channel than a channel through which authentication request210 was received.

As used herein, the term “out-of-band push authentication prompt”generally refers to a prompt initiated by a server toward a client thatrequests for the user to approve the authentication request.Specifically, the authentication prompt corresponds to a “pushauthentication prompt” in the sense that the server initiates the promptupon receiving the authentication request rather than transmitting theprompt in response to communication from the registered mobile device.Furthermore, the authentication prompt is out-of-band in the sense thatthe authentication prompt is transmitted through a different channel(e.g., in terms of encryption protocols, network protocols, networkpath, and/or differing endpoints) than the channel through which theauthentication request is received. As used herein, the term “channel”generally refers to a network path and/or configuration, as discussedabove. The systems described herein may use two different channels forthe authentication procedure to thereby increase redundancy and decreasethe probability of an attacker successfully compromising the securecomputing resource (e.g., because it is more difficult to compromise twodifferent channels than just compromising one channel). In someexamples, the server may transmit the entirety of the content of theprompt. In other examples, the server may simply transmit the prompt inthe form of a bit or code message triggering the mobile device todisplay appropriate content to the user.

Transmission module 108 may transmit authentication prompt 212 in avariety of ways. In some examples, transmission module 108 may transmit,in response to receiving the authentication request, the out-of-bandpush authentication prompt to the registered mobile device bytransmitting a request for the user to approve of the authenticationrequest. FIG. 4 illustrates a mobile device 400, such as a smart phone,which includes a button 404 and a display screen 402. Within displayscreen 402, mobile device 400 may display a notification 406, which maycorrespond to authentication prompt 212. As further shown in FIG. 4 theuser at mobile device 400 may respond to notification 406 by selectingeither “yes” or “no” such as by selecting the appropriate button ondisplay screen 402 as a touchscreen. Notably, in some examples,transmission module 108 may only transmit the authentication prompt inresponse to determining that authentication request 210 originates froman unknown computing device or otherwise results in detecting ananomaly.

In the example of FIG. 4, notification 406 simply requests for the userto indicate whether the user approves of the authentication request,such as by selecting either “yes” or “no,” as discussed above.Alternatively, transmission module 108 may transmit, in response toreceiving the authentication request, the out-of-band pushauthentication prompt to the registered mobile device by transmitting averification code for the user to enter through the channel throughwhich the authentication request was received. In other words,notification 406 may specify a message or code (e.g., “3243”) for theuser to enter through the other channel to verify that the user at theother channel also has access to the registered mobile device and itstrusted channel.

FIG. 5 further illustrates a workflow involving the systems and methodsdescribed herein. As shown in FIG. 5, a channel 520 may not necessarilybe trusted, because the endpoint has not completed a registrationprocess, in contrast to the registered mobile device, as discussedabove. Rather, channel 520 may correspond to any client device on thenetwork, such as the Internet, attempting to access the secure computingresource. As further shown in FIG. 5, channel 520 may include aman-in-the-middle attack site 502, which may be interposed betweenserver 206 and a computing device 510 that transmits the authenticationrequest.

In contrast, FIG. 5 also illustrates a channel 522 (e.g., trustedchannel) that includes mobile device 400 as well as a push platform 508.Push platform 508 may push authentication prompt 212 to mobile device400, as further discussed above. By receiving approval of theauthentication request from mobile device 400 in response to pushplatform 508 pushing authentication prompt 212, server 206 may therebyauthenticate the user and allow access to the secure computing resource.Nevertheless, if server 206 detects a mismatch between the geolocationfor computing device 510 and/or site 502, on the one hand, and mobiledevice 400, on the other hand, then server 206 (or computing device 510and/or mobile device 400) may take remedial action, as discussed furtherbelow.

At step 308, one or more of the systems described herein may compare ageolocation indicated by the authentication request with a geolocationindicated by the registered mobile device in response to the out-of-bandpush authentication prompt. For example, comparison module 110 may, aspart of server 206 in FIG. 2, compare a geolocation indicated byauthentication request 210 with a geolocation indicated by theregistered mobile device in response to out-of-band push authenticationprompt 212.

As used herein, the term “geolocation” generally refers to any dataspecifying or describing a physical location in the world. Examples ofgeolocations include addresses, street names, street numbers, citynames, town names, county names, country names, longitude and/orlatitude coordinates, elevation levels, and/or any other appropriate orsuitable items of information that indicate or tend to indicate thephysical location of an object within the world. Moreover, the phrase“in response to the out-of-band push authentication prompt” in step 308generally refers to the mobile device indicating, transmitting, and/orproviding the geolocation (e.g., using GPS or cell id) in response toreceiving the out-of-band push authentication prompt.” In otherexamples, the mobile device may simply provide the geolocation at a timesubsequent to receiving the authentication prompt without submitting thegeolocation in response to the authentication prompt. Moreover, in someexamples, the mobile security application may obtain the geolocation inresponse to receiving the authentication prompt, such as by accessing anapplication programming interface of the mobile device that providesaccess to global positioning system and/or cell ID information.

Comparison module 110 may compare the geolocations in a variety of ways.In general, comparison module 110 may use any suitable proximity metricor method for measuring proximity between different items or types ofgeolocation information to perform the comparison. In some examples, thetwo geolocations may have different initial formats. Accordingly,comparison module 110 may map one or both of the two geolocations to acommon format. Comparison module 110 may then measure or categorize thedistance between the two geolocations according to the common format.

In one embodiment, the geolocation indicated by the authenticationrequest is ascertained through a service that provides access to adatabase that maps Internet protocol addresses to geolocationinformation. For example, a web-enabled service may automaticallytransmit geolocation information in response to requests for submissionsthat specify Internet protocol addresses. For example, the service mayprovide a record that specifies at least one of: (1) an address, (2)longitude and latitude coordinates, and/or (3) an organization. Morespecifically, a service such as IP GEOLOC IP ADDRESS GEOLOCATION ONLINESERVICE may provide records that specify, for requested Internetprotocol addresses, the corresponding continent, country code, countryname, region (state, county, province, region, territory, district,etc.), city, postal/zip code, metro code, area code, latitude,longitude, Internet service provider (ISP) and/or organization. Notably,the geolocation indicated by the mobile device may be ascertained in thesame manner using Internet protocol addresses, as discussed above.

In further examples, the geolocation indicated by the registered mobiledevice may be ascertained through (1) accessing an applicationprogramming interface of the registered mobile device that provides thegeolocation through a global positioning system and/or (2) accessing acell id associated with the registered mobile device. The cell id mayindicate a generally unique number used to identify a cell towerlocation and/or a base transceiver station (BTS) or sector of a BTSwithin a location area code if not within a GSM network. The registeredmobile device may provide the geolocation in response to theauthentication prompt 212 (in alternative embodiments, the registeredmobile device may provide the geolocation information at other times,such as scheduled times, according to a fixed interval, and/orpreemptively). Moreover, the registered mobile device may provide thegeolocation in a manner that is transparent to the user at mobile device400, the user at computing device 510, and/or the attacker at site 502.

At step 310, one or more of the systems described herein may performremedial action in response to detecting a man-in-the-middle attackbased on a determination that the geolocation indicated by theauthentication request and the geolocation indicated by the registeredmobile device do not match. For example, performance module 112 may, aspart of server 206 in FIG. 2, perform remedial action in response todetecting a man-in-the-middle attack based on a determination that thegeolocation indicated by authentication request 210 and the geolocationindicated by the registered mobile device do not match.

As used herein, the term “remedial action” generally refers to anyaction that an administrator, user, and/or computing resource may taketo protect a user from a detected man-in-the-middle attack. Examples ofremedial actions include blocking or denying the authentication request,blocking or denying access to the secure computing resource, flaggingthe geolocation or Internet protocol address of the authenticationrequest, notifying authorities, taking retaliatory action, increasing alevel of security measures, and/or notifying administrators or users.Moreover, the phrase “do not match” generally refers to a negativeresult of the comparison performed at step 308, as discussed above. Inother words, comparison module 110 may compare the two geolocationsusing any suitable proximity metric to obtain a measure of proximity andthen compare the measure of proximity with a proximity threshold thatdistinguishes between matching and nonmatching geolocations.

In some examples, performance module 112 may detect theman-in-the-middle attack at least in part by identifying informationindicating a potential false positive (i.e., a false indication ofattack or false alarm). For example, performance module 112 may detectthat a large number of authentication requests (e.g., beyond athreshold) originate from a single Internet protocol address orgeolocation or a small set of such locations (e.g., below a threshold).This situation is consistent with both (1) a man-in-the-middle attack(because the attacker may be intercepting authentication requests from alarge number of different users and/or intercepting authenticationrequests from the same user at different devices or locations) and (2)one or more users accessing the network through a proxy and/or networkaddress translation mechanism, which may translate a number of differentoriginal addresses to a single address or smaller set of addresses.Accordingly, performance module 112 may check for further informationthat may distinguish between these two situations.

For example, performance module 112 may check for one or more of thefollowing items of information: (1) satisfaction of a challenge promptat the registered mobile device in response to identifying theinformation indicating a potential false positive, (2) user historyinformation confirming that the user and/or Internet protocol address orgeolocation is trusted, (3) information about other users that shareattributes with the user (i.e., similar users, such as users inproximity to each other, are likely to be similarly trusted ordistrusted), (4) information indicating that an Internet protocoladdress does not hop (the hop may indicate that the attacker is using anincognito technique such as TOR), and/or (5) information confirming thatthe user requests to access the secure computing resource through atleast one of a proxy and a network address translation mechanism. Ingeneral, performance module 112 may increase or decrease a securityscore and/or man-in-the-middle estimation score based on one or more ofthese factors according to any weighted or unweighted average, function,and/or business logic. Moreover, in some examples, performance module112 may only consult one or more of these items of information upondetecting earlier information indicating a potential false positive, asdiscussed above (e.g., detecting a large number of requests from asmaller number of locations may trigger a process for distinguishingfalse positives from true positives).

In other examples, performance module 112 may receive an indication thatthe authentication request is transmitted from the registered mobiledevice. For example, performance module 112 may extract the indicationfrom metadata embedded within the authentication request. Additionallyor alternatively, the authentication request may specify an identity orfingerprint of the computing device (e.g., computing device 510) thattransmits the authentication request. Accordingly, performance module112 may determine that the computing device transmitting theauthentication request and the registered mobile device are the samedevice. In that case, because the authentication request alleges thatthese two devices are the same, performance module 112 may check orverify that they have the exact same Internet protocol address. Ingeneral, in this case, performance module 112 may heighten or elevatethe degree of geolocation proximity used to disconfirm theman-in-the-middle attack.

Moreover, in some embodiments, comparison module 110 and/or performancemodule 112 may be located at mobile device 400 rather than server 206.In these examples, server 206 may forward the geolocation information ofthe authentication request to mobile device 400, which may then performthe comparison. Similarly, in response to detecting a man-in-the-middleattack, mobile device 400 may take remedial action, as discussed furtherabove.

As explained above in connection with method 300 in FIG. 3, the systemsand methods described herein may enable enterprises and otherorganizations to protect computing resources from sophisticatedman-in-the-middle attacks that would otherwise overcome certain forms oftwo-factor authentication, as discussed further above. The systems andmethods described herein may also enable network administrators and/ortheir computing resources to take remedial action to protect users inresponse to detecting man-in-the-middle attacks.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing system 610 capableof implementing one or more of the embodiments described and/orillustrated herein. For example, all or a portion of computing system610 may perform and/or be a means for performing, either alone or incombination with other elements, one or more of the steps describedherein (such as one or more of the steps illustrated in FIG. 3). All ora portion of computing system 610 may also perform and/or be a means forperforming any other steps, methods, or processes described and/orillustrated herein.

Computing system 610 broadly represents any single or multi-processorcomputing device or system capable of executing computer-readableinstructions. Examples of computing system 610 include, withoutlimitation, workstations, laptops, client-side terminals, servers,distributed computing systems, handheld devices, or any other computingsystem or device. In its most basic configuration, computing system 610may include at least one processor 614 and a system memory 616.

Processor 614 generally represents any type or form of physicalprocessing unit (e.g., a hardware-implemented central processing unit)capable of processing data or interpreting and executing instructions.In certain embodiments, processor 614 may receive instructions from asoftware application or module. These instructions may cause processor614 to perform the functions of one or more of the exemplary embodimentsdescribed and/or illustrated herein.

System memory 616 generally represents any type or form of volatile ornon-volatile storage device or medium capable of storing data and/orother computer-readable instructions. Examples of system memory 616include, without limitation, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read OnlyMemory (ROM), flash memory, or any other suitable memory device.Although not required, in certain embodiments computing system 610 mayinclude both a volatile memory unit (such as, for example, system memory616) and a non-volatile storage device (such as, for example, primarystorage device 632, as described in detail below). In one example, oneor more of modules 102 from FIG. 1 may be loaded into system memory 616.

In certain embodiments, exemplary computing system 610 may also includeone or more components or elements in addition to processor 614 andsystem memory 616. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, computingsystem 610 may include a memory controller 618, an Input/Output (I/O)controller 620, and a communication interface 622, each of which may beinterconnected via a communication infrastructure 612. Communicationinfrastructure 612 generally represents any type or form ofinfrastructure capable of facilitating communication between one or morecomponents of a computing device. Examples of communicationinfrastructure 612 include, without limitation, a communication bus(such as an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI), PCI Express (PCIe), or similar bus) and a network.

Memory controller 618 generally represents any type or form of devicecapable of handling memory or data or controlling communication betweenone or more components of computing system 610. For example, in certainembodiments memory controller 618 may control communication betweenprocessor 614, system memory 616, and I/O controller 620 viacommunication infrastructure 612.

I/O controller 620 generally represents any type or form of modulecapable of coordinating and/or controlling the input and outputfunctions of a computing device. For example, in certain embodiments I/Ocontroller 620 may control or facilitate transfer of data between one ormore elements of computing system 610, such as processor 614, systemmemory 616, communication interface 622, display adapter 626, inputinterface 630, and storage interface 634.

Communication interface 622 broadly represents any type or form ofcommunication device or adapter capable of facilitating communicationbetween exemplary computing system 610 and one or more additionaldevices. For example, in certain embodiments communication interface 622may facilitate communication between computing system 610 and a privateor public network including additional computing systems. Examples ofcommunication interface 622 include, without limitation, a wired networkinterface (such as a network interface card), a wireless networkinterface (such as a wireless network interface card), a modem, and anyother suitable interface. In at least one embodiment, communicationinterface 622 may provide a direct connection to a remote server via adirect link to a network, such as the Internet. Communication interface622 may also indirectly provide such a connection through, for example,a local area network (such as an Ethernet network), a personal areanetwork, a telephone or cable network, a cellular telephone connection,a satellite data connection, or any other suitable connection.

In certain embodiments, communication interface 622 may also represent ahost adapter configured to facilitate communication between computingsystem 610 and one or more additional network or storage devices via anexternal bus or communications channel. Examples of host adaptersinclude, without limitation, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) hostadapters, Universal Serial Bus (USB) host adapters, Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 host adapters, AdvancedTechnology Attachment (ATA), Parallel ATA (PATA), Serial ATA (SATA), andExternal SATA (eSATA) host adapters, Fibre Channel interface adapters,Ethernet adapters, or the like. Communication interface 622 may alsoallow computing system 610 to engage in distributed or remote computing.For example, communication interface 622 may receive instructions from aremote device or send instructions to a remote device for execution.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, computing system 610 may also include at leastone display device 624 coupled to communication infrastructure 612 via adisplay adapter 626. Display device 624 generally represents any type orform of device capable of visually displaying information forwarded bydisplay adapter 626. Similarly, display adapter 626 generally representsany type or form of device configured to forward graphics, text, andother data from communication infrastructure 612 (or from a framebuffer, as known in the art) for display on display device 624.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, exemplary computing system 610 may alsoinclude at least one input device 628 coupled to communicationinfrastructure 612 via an input interface 630. Input device 628generally represents any type or form of input device capable ofproviding input, either computer or human generated, to exemplarycomputing system 610. Examples of input device 628 include, withoutlimitation, a keyboard, a pointing device, a speech recognition device,or any other input device.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, exemplary computing system 610 may alsoinclude a primary storage device 632 and a backup storage device 633coupled to communication infrastructure 612 via a storage interface 634.Storage devices 632 and 633 generally represent any type or form ofstorage device or medium capable of storing data and/or othercomputer-readable instructions. For example, storage devices 632 and 633may be a magnetic disk drive (e.g., a so-called hard drive), a solidstate drive, a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical diskdrive, a flash drive, or the like. Storage interface 634 generallyrepresents any type or form of interface or device for transferring databetween storage devices 632 and 633 and other components of computingsystem 610. In one example, database 120 from FIG. 1 may be stored inprimary storage device 632.

In certain embodiments, storage devices 632 and 633 may be configured toread from and/or write to a removable storage unit configured to storecomputer software, data, or other computer-readable information.Examples of suitable removable storage units include, withoutlimitation, a floppy disk, a magnetic tape, an optical disk, a flashmemory device, or the like. Storage devices 632 and 633 may also includeother similar structures or devices for allowing computer software,data, or other computer-readable instructions to be loaded intocomputing system 610. For example, storage devices 632 and 633 may beconfigured to read and write software, data, or other computer-readableinformation. Storage devices 632 and 633 may also be a part of computingsystem 610 or may be a separate device accessed through other interfacesystems.

Many other devices or subsystems may be connected to computing system610. Conversely, all of the components and devices illustrated in FIG. 6need not be present to practice the embodiments described and/orillustrated herein. The devices and subsystems referenced above may alsobe interconnected in different ways from that shown in FIG. 6. Computingsystem 610 may also employ any number of software, firmware, and/orhardware configurations. For example, one or more of the exemplaryembodiments disclosed herein may be encoded as a computer program (alsoreferred to as computer software, software applications,computer-readable instructions, or computer control logic) on acomputer-readable medium. The phrase “computer-readable medium,” as usedherein, generally refers to any form of device, carrier, or mediumcapable of storing or carrying computer-readable instructions. Examplesof computer-readable media include, without limitation,transmission-type media, such as carrier waves, and non-transitory-typemedia, such as magnetic-storage media (e.g., hard disk drives, tapedrives, and floppy disks), optical-storage media (e.g., Compact Disks(CDs), Digital Video Disks (DVDs), and BLU-RAY disks),electronic-storage media (e.g., solid-state drives and flash media), andother distribution systems.

The computer-readable medium containing the computer program may beloaded into computing system 610. All or a portion of the computerprogram stored on the computer-readable medium may then be stored insystem memory 616 and/or various portions of storage devices 632 and633. When executed by processor 614, a computer program loaded intocomputing system 610 may cause processor 614 to perform and/or be ameans for performing the functions of one or more of the exemplaryembodiments described and/or illustrated herein. Additionally oralternatively, one or more of the exemplary embodiments described and/orillustrated herein may be implemented in firmware and/or hardware. Forexample, computing system 610 may be configured as an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) adapted to implement one or more ofthe exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary network architecture 700 inwhich client systems 710, 720, and 730 and servers 740 and 745 may becoupled to a network 750. As detailed above, all or a portion of networkarchitecture 700 may perform and/or be a means for performing, eitheralone or in combination with other elements, one or more of the stepsdisclosed herein (such as one or more of the steps illustrated in FIG.3). All or a portion of network architecture 700 may also be used toperform and/or be a means for performing other steps and features setforth in the instant disclosure.

Client systems 710, 720, and 730 generally represent any type or form ofcomputing device or system, such as exemplary computing system 610 inFIG. 6. Similarly, servers 740 and 745 generally represent computingdevices or systems, such as application servers or database servers,configured to provide various database services and/or run certainsoftware applications. Network 750 generally represents anytelecommunication or computer network including, for example, anintranet, a WAN, a LAN, a PAN, or the Internet. In one example, clientsystems 710, 720, and/or 730 and/or servers 740 and/or 745 may includeall or a portion of system 100 from FIG. 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, one or more storage devices 760(1)-(N) may bedirectly attached to server 740. Similarly, one or more storage devices770(1)-(N) may be directly attached to server 745. Storage devices760(1)-(N) and storage devices 770(1)-(N) generally represent any typeor form of storage device or medium capable of storing data and/or othercomputer-readable instructions. In certain embodiments, storage devices760(1)-(N) and storage devices 770(1)-(N) may represent Network-AttachedStorage (NAS) devices configured to communicate with servers 740 and 745using various protocols, such as Network File System (NFS), ServerMessage Block (SMB), or Common Internet File System (CIFS).

Servers 740 and 745 may also be connected to a Storage Area Network(SAN) fabric 780. SAN fabric 780 generally represents any type or formof computer network or architecture capable of facilitatingcommunication between a plurality of storage devices. SAN fabric 780 mayfacilitate communication between servers 740 and 745 and a plurality ofstorage devices 790(1)-(N) and/or an intelligent storage array 795. SANfabric 780 may also facilitate, via network 750 and servers 740 and 745,communication between client systems 710, 720, and 730 and storagedevices 790(1)-(N) and/or intelligent storage array 795 in such a mannerthat devices 790(1)-(N) and array 795 appear as locally attached devicesto client systems 710, 720, and 730. As with storage devices 760(1)-(N)and storage devices 770(1)-(N), storage devices 790(1)-(N) andintelligent storage array 795 generally represent any type or form ofstorage device or medium capable of storing data and/or othercomputer-readable instructions.

In certain embodiments, and with reference to exemplary computing system610 of FIG. 6, a communication interface, such as communicationinterface 622 in FIG. 6, may be used to provide connectivity betweeneach client system 710, 720, and 730 and network 750. Client systems710, 720, and 730 may be able to access information on server 740 or 745using, for example, a web browser or other client software. Suchsoftware may allow client systems 710, 720, and 730 to access datahosted by server 740, server 745, storage devices 760(1)-(N), storagedevices 770(1)-(N), storage devices 790(1)-(N), or intelligent storagearray 795. Although FIG. 7 depicts the use of a network (such as theInternet) for exchanging data, the embodiments described and/orillustrated herein are not limited to the Internet or any particularnetwork-based environment.

In at least one embodiment, all or a portion of one or more of theexemplary embodiments disclosed herein may be encoded as a computerprogram and loaded onto and executed by server 740, server 745, storagedevices 760(1)-(N), storage devices 770(1)-(N), storage devices790(1)-(N), intelligent storage array 795, or any combination thereof.All or a portion of one or more of the exemplary embodiments disclosedherein may also be encoded as a computer program, stored in server 740,run by server 745, and distributed to client systems 710, 720, and 730over network 750.

As detailed above, computing system 610 and/or one or more components ofnetwork architecture 700 may perform and/or be a means for performing,either alone or in combination with other elements, one or more steps ofan exemplary method for detecting man-in-the-middle attacks.

While the foregoing disclosure sets forth various embodiments usingspecific block diagrams, flowcharts, and examples, each block diagramcomponent, flowchart step, operation, and/or component described and/orillustrated herein may be implemented, individually and/or collectively,using a wide range of hardware, software, or firmware (or anycombination thereof) configurations. In addition, any disclosure ofcomponents contained within other components should be consideredexemplary in nature since many other architectures can be implemented toachieve the same functionality.

In some examples, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 in FIG. 1 mayrepresent portions of a cloud-computing or network-based environment.Cloud-computing environments may provide various services andapplications via the Internet. These cloud-based services (e.g.,software as a service, platform as a service, infrastructure as aservice, etc.) may be accessible through a web browser or other remoteinterface. Various functions described herein may be provided through aremote desktop environment or any other cloud-based computingenvironment.

In various embodiments, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 in FIG.1 may facilitate multi-tenancy within a cloud-based computingenvironment. In other words, the software modules described herein mayconfigure a computing system (e.g., a server) to facilitatemulti-tenancy for one or more of the functions described herein. Forexample, one or more of the software modules described herein mayprogram a server to enable two or more clients (e.g., customers) toshare an application that is running on the server. A server programmedin this manner may share an application, operating system, processingsystem, and/or storage system among multiple customers (i.e., tenants).One or more of the modules described herein may also partition dataand/or configuration information of a multi-tenant application for eachcustomer such that one customer cannot access data and/or configurationinformation of another customer.

According to various embodiments, all or a portion of exemplary system100 in FIG. 1 may be implemented within a virtual environment. Forexample, the modules and/or data described herein may reside and/orexecute within a virtual machine. As used herein, the phrase “virtualmachine” generally refers to any operating system environment that isabstracted from computing hardware by a virtual machine manager (e.g., ahypervisor). Additionally or alternatively, the modules and/or datadescribed herein may reside and/or execute within a virtualizationlayer. As used herein, the phrase “virtualization layer” generallyrefers to any data layer and/or application layer that overlays and/oris abstracted from an operating system environment. A virtualizationlayer may be managed by a software virtualization solution (e.g., a filesystem filter) that presents the virtualization layer as though it werepart of an underlying base operating system. For example, a softwarevirtualization solution may redirect calls that are initially directedto locations within a base file system and/or registry to locationswithin a virtualization layer.

In some examples, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 in FIG. 1 mayrepresent portions of a mobile computing environment. Mobile computingenvironments may be implemented by a wide range of mobile computingdevices, including mobile phones, tablet computers, e-book readers,personal digital assistants, wearable computing devices (e.g., computingdevices with a head-mounted display, smartwatches, etc.), and the like.In some examples, mobile computing environments may have one or moredistinct features, including, for example, reliance on battery power,presenting only one foreground application at any given time, remotemanagement features, touchscreen features, location and movement data(e.g., provided by Global Positioning Systems, gyroscopes,accelerometers, etc.), restricted platforms that restrict modificationsto system-level configurations and/or that limit the ability ofthird-party software to inspect the behavior of other applications,controls to restrict the installation of applications (e.g., to onlyoriginate from approved application stores), etc. Various functionsdescribed herein may be provided for a mobile computing environmentand/or may interact with a mobile computing environment.

In addition, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 in FIG. 1 mayrepresent portions of, interact with, consume data produced by, and/orproduce data consumed by one or more systems for information management.As used herein, the phrase “information management” may refer to theprotection, organization, and/or storage of data. Examples of systemsfor information management may include, without limitation, storagesystems, backup systems, archival systems, replication systems, highavailability systems, data search systems, virtualization systems, andthe like.

In some embodiments, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 in FIG. 1may represent portions of, produce data protected by, and/or communicatewith one or more systems for information security. As used herein, thephrase “information security” may refer to the control of access toprotected data. Examples of systems for information security mayinclude, without limitation, systems providing managed securityservices, data loss prevention systems, identity authentication systems,access control systems, encryption systems, policy compliance systems,intrusion detection and prevention systems, electronic discoverysystems, and the like.

According to some examples, all or a portion of exemplary system 100 inFIG. 1 may represent portions of, communicate with, and/or receiveprotection from one or more systems for endpoint security. As usedherein, the phrase “endpoint security” may refer to the protection ofendpoint systems from unauthorized and/or illegitimate use, access,and/or control. Examples of systems for endpoint protection may include,without limitation, anti-malware systems, user authentication systems,encryption systems, privacy systems, spam-filtering services, and thelike.

The process parameters and sequence of steps described and/orillustrated herein are given by way of example only and can be varied asdesired. For example, while the steps illustrated and/or describedherein may be shown or discussed in a particular order, these steps donot necessarily need to be performed in the order illustrated ordiscussed. The various exemplary methods described and/or illustratedherein may also omit one or more of the steps described or illustratedherein or include additional steps in addition to those disclosed.

While various embodiments have been described and/or illustrated hereinin the context of fully functional computing systems, one or more ofthese exemplary embodiments may be distributed as a program product in avariety of forms, regardless of the particular type of computer-readablemedia used to actually carry out the distribution. The embodimentsdisclosed herein may also be implemented using software modules thatperform certain tasks. These software modules may include script, batch,or other executable files that may be stored on a computer-readablestorage medium or in a computing system. In some embodiments, thesesoftware modules may configure a computing system to perform one or moreof the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

In addition, one or more of the modules described herein may transformdata, physical devices, and/or representations of physical devices fromone form to another. For example, one or more of the modules recitedherein may receive an authentication request and/or associatedauthentication status to be transformed, transform one or more of these,output a result of the transformation to a display or output device, usethe result of the transformation to protect users from man-in-the-middleattacks, and/or store the result of the transformation to a memory orstorage. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the modulesrecited herein may transform a processor, volatile memory, non-volatilememory, and/or any other portion of a physical computing device from oneform to another by executing on the computing device, storing data onthe computing device, and/or otherwise interacting with the computingdevice.

The preceding description has been provided to enable others skilled inthe art to best utilize various aspects of the exemplary embodimentsdisclosed herein. This exemplary description is not intended to beexhaustive or to be limited to any precise form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations are possible without departing from thespirit and scope of the instant disclosure. The embodiments disclosedherein should be considered in all respects illustrative and notrestrictive. Reference should be made to the appended claims and theirequivalents in determining the scope of the instant disclosure.

Unless otherwise noted, the terms “connected to” and “coupled to” (andtheir derivatives), as used in the specification and claims, are to beconstrued as permitting both direct and indirect (i.e., via otherelements or components) connection. In addition, the terms “a” or “an,”as used in the specification and claims, are to be construed as meaning“at least one of.” Finally, for ease of use, the terms “including” and“having” (and their derivatives), as used in the specification andclaims, are interchangeable with and have the same meaning as the word“comprising.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for detectingman-in-the-middle attacks, at least a portion of the method beingperformed by a computing device comprising at least one processor, themethod comprising: registering a mobile device of a user within acomputing environment as an authenticated mobile device that correspondsto the user; receiving an authentication request to log into a securecomputing resource as the user; transmitting, in response to receivingthe authentication request, an out-of-band push authentication prompt tothe registered mobile device of the user through a different channelthan a channel through which the authentication request was received;comparing a geolocation indicated by the authentication request with ageolocation indicated by the registered mobile device in response to theout-of-band push authentication prompt by comparing a measure ofproximity with a proximity threshold that distinguishes between matchingand nonmatching geolocations; and performing a remedial action inresponse to detecting a man-in-the-middle attack based on adetermination that the geolocation indicated by the authenticationrequest and the geolocation indicated by the registered mobile device donot match.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein registering the mobiledevice comprises: installing a mobile security application on the mobiledevice; signing a message from the mobile device to a registrationserver using a private key embedded within the mobile securityapplication.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting, in responseto receiving the authentication request, the out-of-band pushauthentication prompt to the registered mobile device comprisestransmitting a request for the user to approve of the authenticationrequest.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting, in response toreceiving the authentication request, the out-of-band pushauthentication prompt to the registered mobile device comprisestransmitting a verification code for the user to enter through thechannel through which the authentication request was received.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the geolocation indicated by theauthentication request is ascertained through a service that providesaccess to a database that maps Internet protocol addresses togeolocation information.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the serviceprovides a record that specifies at least one of: an address; longitudeand latitude coordinates; and an organization.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the geolocation indicated by the registered mobile device isascertained through at least one of: accessing an applicationprogramming interface of the registered mobile device that provides thegeolocation through a global positioning system; and accessing a cell idassociated with the registered mobile device.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein detecting the man-in-the-middle attack comprises: identifyinginformation indicating a potential false positive in detecting theman-in-the-middle attack; and determining that the man-in-the-middleattack is detected despite the indication of the potential falsepositive.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining that theman-in-the-middle attack is detected despite the indication of thepotential false positive comprises identifying a lack of confirmationinformation that would confirm the potential false positive, theconfirmation information comprising at least one of: satisfaction of achallenge prompt at the registered mobile device in response toidentifying the information indicating a potential false positive; userhistory information confirming that the user is trusted; informationabout other users that share attributes with the user; and informationindicating that an Internet protocol address does not hop; informationconfirming that the user requests to access the secure computingresource through at least one of a proxy and a network addresstranslation mechanism.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting theman-in-the-middle attack comprises: receiving an indication that theauthentication request is transmitted from the registered mobile device;and detecting that an Internet protocol address of the authenticationrequest and an Internet protocol address indicated by the registeredmobile device are not an exact match.
 11. A system for detectingman-in-the-middle attacks, the system comprising: a registration module,stored in memory, that registers a mobile device of a user within acomputing environment as an authenticated mobile device that correspondsto the user; a reception module, stored in memory, that receives anauthentication request to log into a secure computing resource as theuser; a transmission module, stored in memory, that transmits, inresponse to receiving the authentication request, an out-of-band pushauthentication prompt to the registered mobile device of the userthrough a different channel than a channel through which theauthentication request was received; a comparison module, stored inmemory, that compares a geolocation indicated by the authenticationrequest with a geolocation indicated by the registered mobile device inresponse to the out-of-band push authentication prompt by comparing ameasure of proximity with a proximity threshold that distinguishesbetween matching and nonmatching geolocations; a performance module,stored in memory, that performs a remedial action in response todetecting a man-in-the-middle attack based on a determination that thegeolocation indicated by the authentication request and the geolocationindicated by the registered mobile device do not match; and at least onephysical processor configured to execute the registration module, thereception module, the transmission module, the comparison module, andthe performance module.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein theregistration module registers the mobile device by: installing a mobilesecurity application on the mobile device; and signing a message fromthe mobile device to a registration server using a private key embeddedwithin the mobile security application.
 13. The system of claim 11,wherein the transmission module transmits, in response to receiving theauthentication request, the out-of-band push authentication prompt tothe registered mobile device by transmitting a request for the user toapprove of the authentication request.
 14. The system of claim 11,wherein the transmission module transmits, in response to receiving theauthentication request, the out-of-band push authentication prompt tothe registered mobile device by transmitting a verification code for theuser to enter through the channel through which the authenticationrequest was received.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein thegeolocation indicated by the authentication request is ascertainedthrough a service that provides access to a database that maps Internetprotocol addresses to geolocation information.
 16. The system of claim15, wherein the service provides a record that specifies at least oneof: an address; longitude and latitude coordinates; and an organization.17. The system of claim 11, wherein the geolocation indicated by theregistered mobile device is ascertained through at least one of:accessing an application programming interface of the registered mobiledevice that provides the geolocation through a global positioningsystem; and accessing a cell id associated with the registered mobiledevice.
 18. The system of claim 11, wherein the performance moduledetects the man-in-the-middle attack at least in part by: identifyinginformation indicating a potential false positive in detecting theman-in-the-middle attack; and determining that the man-in-the-middleattack is detected despite the indication of the potential falsepositive.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the performance moduledetermines that the man-in-the-middle attack is detected despite theindication of the potential false positive by identifying a lack ofconfirmation information that would confirm the potential falsepositive, the confirmation information comprising at least one of:satisfaction of a challenge prompt at the registered mobile device inresponse to identifying the information indicating a potential falsepositive; user history information confirming that the user is trusted;information about other users that share attributes with the user;information indicating that an Internet protocol address does not hop;and information confirming that the user requests to access the securecomputing resource through at least one of a proxy and a network addresstranslation mechanism.
 20. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumcomprising one or more computer-readable instructions that, whenexecuted by at least one processor of a computing device, cause thecomputing device to: register a mobile device of a user within acomputing environment as an authenticated mobile device that correspondsto the user; receive an authentication request to log into a securecomputing resource as the user; transmit, in response to receiving theauthentication request, an out-of-band push authentication prompt to theregistered mobile device of the user through a different channel than achannel through which the authentication request was received; compare ageolocation indicated by the authentication request with a geolocationindicated by the registered mobile device in response to the out-of-bandpush authentication prompt by comparing a measure of proximity with aproximity threshold that distinguishes between matching and nonmatchinggeolocations; and perform a remedial action in response to detecting aman-in-the-middle attack based on a determination that the geolocationindicated by the authentication request and the geolocation indicated bythe registered mobile device do not match.